Method of treating tobacco



Patented June 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE No Drawing. Application June 26, 1931, Serial No. 546,959

13 Claims. (Cl. 131-31) This invention relates to improved methods of treating tobacco and new tobacco products.

There is an ever increasing demand for tobacco products which combine the advantages 5 of the natural flavor and aroma of tobacco with a quality which imparts to the smoke the characteristic generally known as coolness. In the past attempts have been made to attain this result. These have consisted largely of the introduction of sweetening or flavoring agents into the tobacco. Typical examples of such agents are menthol, sugar, honey, licorice, gums, salt,'

log wood, essential oils, etc. Sometimes small amounts of olive oil are employed in the rolled tobacco. In some manufacturing processes acetic acid is utilized as a preservative. The majority of these materials present disadvantages. When relatively potent flavoring materials, such, as essential oils, are employed, the 29 natural flavoring and/or aroma of the tobacco is largely masked. Furthermore many of these agents rather deleteriously affect the tobacco in respect of the moisture content.

As is known, in the preparation of tobacco for the ultimate manufacture of cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobacco, the moisture content is very important. As a general proposition the finished article should not contain more than apv proximately 30% moisture. 0n the other hand, 'as is generally well known, unless the moisture content is kept fairly high the tobacco becomes dry and practically unsalable. For this reason in recent years every attempt is being made to package the tobacco under such circumstances as will insure the retention of an. adequate amount of moisture. Furthermore, this moisture content is not only important in respect of the finished article but in respect of the raw tobacco, because it is found that a certain per centage of moisture is desirable, if not necessary, to insure proper processing and manipulation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide new methods of treating tobacco to insure a final product which is characterized by a desirable moisture content.

Another object is to provide new and improved tobacco products.

A further object is to provide an improved cigarette.

With these and other equally important objects in view, the invention comprehends the treatment of tobacco at any desired stage of manufacture, either during the curing or sub-.- sequent manufacture of tobacco products into the final useful products, with a material which not only very beneficially aflects the moisture content of the tobacco but which also imparts to it a desirable coolness without detracting from or masking the natural flavor and aroma of the tobacco.

I have found, as a result of experimentation, that if pectin or pectinous substances are applied to tobacco at any suitable stage during the proceasing, the final product not only is of desirably high moisture content and freshness but when smoked is eminently cool and pleasing. The invention may be applied to any type of tobacco product and any kind of mixture or blend. For example, the invention may be applied to cigars or cigarettes made of domestic or imported tobacco, or of any blend, such as blends of tobacco with essential oils, such as oils of cassia, geranium, clove, bergomat, etc.

As noted above, the pectinous material, which preferably comprises pure pectin, may be applied at any desired stage in the process of treatment of the tobacco. Pectin likewise may be applied in any,suitable manner, as by spraying finely divided powder upon the leaf either before casing or after complete curing, or the pectin may be made up as a warm aqueous solution of any desired strength and this solution sprayed upon the tobacco or the tobacco dipped in it. Preferably the pectin is applied at some time subsequent to the first baking process. .The advantageous results of this invention may similarly be secured by applying the pectin to the wrapper, specifically to the paper in the case of cigarettes and to the outside wrapping leaf in the case of cigars. When the pectin is applied to the tobacco leafor shredded tobacco it presents the advantage of retaining the tobacco in a moist condition due to the hygroscopicity of the pectin.

- It will be noted that byemploying this improvement, namely utilizing the hygroscopic salt, the elasticity and softness of the leaf or shredded tobacco is enhanced and preserved.

This similarly enables, in manufacture, a latitude in respect of the time the pectin treated tobacco is kept in the drying room; for as a general proposition the moisture in cigarettes varies according to the time they are stored in the drying room. In the case of cigarettes the moisture content of the tobacco as removed from the drying room usually ranges from 12 to 18%. As known in the art, this must be carefully controlled, for if the tobacco is made too dry it is liable to be shaken out of the wrapper and. on

the other hand, if the cigarette is too damp the tobacco will not burn satisfactorily.

I have found by actualtest that the pectin treated tobacco presents very desirable burning qualities and that a domestic blend to which pectin has been applied, either upon the wrapper or upon the tobacco itself, approximates, in this burning quality, cigarettes made from Turkish tobacco. I

As noted hereinbefore, the application of the pectin to the tobacco may be made at a number of different stages and in a number of different forms. For example, if desired, the pectin may be applied either as a powder or in relatively concentrated aqueous solutions to the tobacco after it has been shredded and panned. When applying the pectin at this stage the material is utilized to control the moisture content in the finished tobacco besides imparting to the tobacco the improved taste and burning qualities,

as well as to seal in natural tobacco flavors and aromas. However, if desired, the solid or pectin solution may be applied in any desired manner In this form of treatment the subsequent panning or heating in the copper trays will serve to largely volatilize the aqueous vehicle and leave the pectin homogeneously distributed over the surface of the tobacco. Likewise, if desired, the pectin may be applied to the tobacco at an earlier stage, as for example in the liquoring stage. In this particular treatment the aqueous solution of pectin, of the predetermined desired strength, may be used as the liquoring medium.

As noted hereinbefore, besides imparting improved characteristics of taste and burningqualities to shredded tobacco in the case of cigarettes and the filler and bunch wrappers in the case of cigars, this type of treatment is particularly efficacious when applied to the outer cigar wrapper. Due to its hygroscopicity the pectin applied to the outer cigar wrapper insures an optimum moisture content of this portion of the cigar and improves and maintains the plasticity of the leaf, and thereby secures facile manipulation.

While several methods of applying the pectose material to tobacco have been described, it is to be understood that these are merely exemplary and are not to be considered as the only methods of utilizing the material. The invention is conceived to reside broadly in the concept of sealing 1,9c1,sca

in the original aromas and flavors, improving the taste, coohiess and burning qualities of tobacco products, as well as improving their mechanical condition for the manipulative steps involved in the manufacture of tobacco products.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture a cigarette having incorporated therein a quantity of commercial pectin.

2. As an article of manufacture tobacco treated with commercial pectin.

3. As an article of manufacture a cellulosic cigarette wrapper which is impregnated with pectin.

4. As an article of manufacture a cigar wrapper coated with a quantity of pectin.

5. The method of controlling the moisture content of tobacco which comprises applying to the tobacco a predetermined quantity of pectin.

6. A method of improving the taste and burning quality of tobacco which comprises applying small quantities of pectin thereto after the panning operation.

7. As an article of manufacture a cigarette having a predetermined amount of pectin incorporated in both the shredded tobacco and the wrapper.

8. As an article of manufacture a cigarette having a sufficient amount of pectin-incorporated therein to insure a predetermined moisture content.

9. The method of insuring the keeping qualities of cigarettes with respect .to moisture content which comprises incorporating in the cigarette, and substantially homogeneously dispersed therethrough, a predetermined quantity of pectin.

10. As an article of manufacture, tobacco treated with a preparation containing pectin in solution.

11. As an article of manufacture, tobacco treated with a preparation containing pectin particles which are substantially free from cellulose or fibrous constituents.

12. As an article of manufacture, tobacco treated with pectin substantially free from cel- WILLIAM A. ROOKER. 

